[Weekend Box Office] Guardians of the Galaxy is Top-Grossing Film of the Year

Thanks to a strong Labor Day holiday weekend, Guardians of the Galaxy became the top-grossing domestic film of the year, out-grossing Captain America: The Winter Soldier $274.6m to $259.8m. As I’ve noted multiple times in the past, Guardians of the Galaxy was seen as a huge risk for Marvel Studios due to the general unfamiliarity with the characters, the film’s different tone when compared to the rest of the Marvel films, and a strict focus on sci-fi. However, all’s well that ends well, and as a fan of Marvel and the Marvel films, it’s great that the studio’s success continues strongly.

This weekend’s wide releases, As Above, So Below and The November Man performed poorly, only grossing $8.3m and $7.6m to come in 4th and 6th, respectively. I had high hopes for the Pierce Brosnan-led spy thriller The November Man, but poor reviews unfortunately buried the film right out of the gate. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stayed strong in 2nd with an $11.75m take for the weekend, the Chloe Grace Moretz-starring If I Stay rounded out the Top 3 with $9.2m, and the cop comedy Let’s Be Cops placed in 5th with $8.2m.

You can check out the weekend’s full box office numbers below.

1. Guardians of the Galaxy – $16,313,000

2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – $11,750,000

3. If I Stay – $9,260,000

4. As Above, So Below – $8,342,400

5. Let’s Be Cops – $8,200,000

6. The November Man – $7,660,000

7. When the Game Stands Tall – $5,650,000

8. The Giver – $5,253,000

9. The Hundred-Foot Journey – $4,603,000

10. The Expendables 3 – $3,500,000

[via Rentrak]